If you're thinking about opening your own practice, this next episode is one you don't want to miss.

Pulled from the files of clients who have successfully opened cold and those who were rescued after a less successful opening, learn the hits, misses wins, losses, mistakes, and regrets-and steps to avoid them.

The errors seemed insignificant and inconsequential at the time but gave them years of heartache afterward.

Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO, president and CEO of New England College of Optometry, joins the show to talk optometric education. Are there too many schools? Is student debt too high? Is today's education still relevant to reality?

If you had to do it all over again...would you choose optometry? While you can't turn the clock back, you do have control over your practice's destiny. Tune in to this week's show to find out how to redo those things you'd do over.

The cash-paying model in optometry is alive and well. Is it in your office? Andy Corley joins the show to explain why. Andy is a 40-year veteran of the eye care industry from a start at Allergan to a move to AMO, then co-founding Chiron Vision and eyeonics. He is currently chairman of the board of RX Sight, Equinox, and eyeBrain Medical.

It's that time of year again...back to school. If you haven't already ramped up your marketing, this week's show will offer tips on making eye exams part of the back-to-school routine. Don't forget contact lenses, sports goggles, and more! Kick-start the back-to-school season with the Power Hour!

Want new ways to market your practice? Of course you do! Tune into the show this week to source ideas from optometry's out-of-the-box marketer Warren Modlin who hails from legacy CIBAVision and Oakley.

Contact lenses, the FTC, and optometry...what do you need to know? The deadline to weigh in is fast approaching. Get the scoop so you can make your voice heard. Find out more on this week's episode of the Power Hour.

Vision Expo was last week. As always, it was a great meeting with lots of classes & a lot going on. This week on Power Hour, we'll discuss some great things we learned at the meeting. Call in with what you brought home! Let's talk about it on this episode of the Power Hour.

Vision by Design, THE country’s premier myopia meeting of the year is coming up fast. Joining the show from VBD will be Drs. Cary Herzberg and Tom Weshefsky to talk about what’s new at this years’ meeting and why you should attend!

Join Jeffry Gerson, OD, FAAO on this week's show as he gets us up to the second on what's new in ARMD diagnosis, management and treatment. Also joining the show will be Greg Jackson, PhD from Maculogix to discuss research around the link of dark adaptation and ARMD.

With industry trends leading more doctors to provide specialty care (dry eyes, glaucoma, vision therapy, low vision, TBI care, specialty contact lenses etc), communicating with other professionals is a significant opportunity for practice growth. Unfortunately, optometry has long been the "outcast" in the medical community making it difficult to break through to this group of doctors.

On this episode of The Power Hour, Gary discusses how to configure your specialty practice from the ground up to ensure this large source of prospective patients is accessible to your practice.

Why did you become an OD? Are you achieving your “why?” Gary discusses his own personal journey on the road to his “why” and talks about how you can use the same technique to have your practice work for you instead of you becoming a slave to your practice.

Yes, at one time or another, uncollected fees, or accounts receivables that languish over time, are the same as working for free. On this episode we discuss ways to avoid this from happening and talk about how to “mop up” any existing receivables. You did the work, so how about getting paid for it?

Time? Money? Cell phones, cars and TV’s aren’t the only thing changing at warp speed. The technology we use in our practices is doing the same thing at the same speed. How can you afford to keep up when the least expensive piece of equipment you might buy can be same price as a nice car! On this episode of the Power Hour Gary gets directly to the point and offers up suggestions and strategies to help with this tech dilemma.

This time of the year, we all have the best intentions of improving our practices and personal lives. Yet somehow, no matter how hard we try, our best intentions get side tracked and derailed. Listen to this first episode of 2018 where Gary shares his consulting teams' strategies for setting goals and actually getting them done. Remember - SAYING you want to increase your practice revenues, cut expenses, see more (or less!) patients or for that matter lose weight is one thing. DOING any of those things is another! This episode will get your year jump started and show you how to keep the momentum you establish going throughout the course of the year!

With all the rapid changes going on in optometry, is a residency still necessary? 2015 graduate Dr. Kevin Cornwell joins the show talking about his experiences and viewpoints on the benefits of a residency as well as his thoughts about OD’s practicing in the prison system. Tune in for this very interesting perspective on this episode of the Power Hour!

Try as we may, things still occasionally go awry in a practice. What you do after that happens can be the difference between losing a patient, their family and all their friends – or making them lifetime practice cheerleaders. Learn Gary’s view on service recovery in your practice and what you should do when things don’t quite go as planned.

What is often talked about, easy to calculate and rarely used? That would be "chair costs." This week, Gary discusses exactly what the terminology means, how to calculate yours and what to do with the numbers you get. If you want to learn what GOPPAR and RevPAR mean, and how they affect your practice, and what they've got to do with chair costs - you'll want to tune in to this episode!

In what will probably be the shortest episode ever, Gary reveals the atomic powered tool the every entrepreneur has, and never uses. It’s one of those “I can’t believe it was this obvious and staring me in the face all the time” things that you WILL be able to use right after the show. Short, to the point and powerful – on this episode of the Power Hour!

Listen to this episode for an entertaining discussion with Gary and Brian as they talk about the difference between UK and US optometry. Opticians scope of care, OD education, UK practitioners emphasis on glasses and being ahead of the curve in contact lenses are discussed along with differences health insurance systems and the state of the industry. Brian also talks about his important work with the BCLA, his fun presentation style and . . . shoes (listen for details!)

Managed vision care, telemedicine, online shopping for eyeglasses or contact lenses... are these things that will hurt or help your practice? The answers and discussion may surprise you when you listen to this episode of the Power Hour!

Private Equity is getting more and more involved in optometry. What is private equity, why are they so interested in eyecare, and is private equity something you should look at for your own practice? Jeff Fronterhouse and Bret Davis, two experts in private equity, join Gary on this episode of the Power Hour!

During a staff training session you tell your optician, “When you sell AR lenses, say X.” We’ve all tried training our staff this way, and whether “X” is effective or not, invariably we have trouble making it stick. Is the problem “X” or the way we’re training and teaching our staff? Frank Pigneri, Sr. Manager of Customer Training and Development at Essilor is the guest on our show. He discusses some of the finer points of optical training, what should be included in a good training program, when to do it, how to make it stick as well as a host of other great topics related to staff education.

You practice in an area that is very conservative. Your long time trusted, well known receptionist who had brown hair yesterday, shows up with purple hair today. What should you do? What can you do? Your optician shows up with a therapy dog. Your insurance biller is afraid of dogs. Now what? Attorney Julia Goldman is the guest on the Power Hour.

We have all watched kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span. Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

Years of scientific research and intensive study of real-world applications have led to incredible breakthroughs in the way businesses large and small identify and hire top talent in their fields. Optimize Hire, a leading Internet-based pre-employment testing company focused on helping organizations hire better, joins Local Eye Site on this episode of the Power Hour to discuss this important topic.

The CDC, in close collaboration with industry partners, has organized Contact Lens Health Week as a strategy to increase public awareness and promote healthy contact lens wear and care. Jennifer Cope, MD, MPH from the CDC and Joseph P. Shovlin, O.D., F.A.A.O., the President, American Academy of Optometry, join the Power Hour to discuss the fourth annual Contact Lens Health Week. This year’s campaign theme is “healthy habits mean healthy eyes” with a focus on encouraging youth to start healthy habits early, for healthy eyes later. Increased awareness about the importance of proper contact lens hygiene can encourage contact lens wearers to adopt healthy habits that can reduce their chances of getting an eye infection.

It’s as constant and inescapable as gravity. Yet, most of us only focus on the downside of the 80-20 rule and don’t look at how it can actually help our practices. That changes on this episode of the Power Hour when Gary discusses how this powerful principle can help you build your practice. Marketing, staffing, accounts receivable, and scheduling are but a few of the areas that can be improved once you understand how to leverage this natural law.

While Google Glass “1.0” certainly had enough challenges that prevented it from becoming mainstream in optometry, other companies (including Google) haven’t stopped developing new and better products. Listen to this episode of the Power Hour as we bring back industry expert David Friedfeld, the president of ClearVision and Dr. Richard Clompus, the VP of Communications for PogoTec and we visit the current state of wearable eyewear and how it can work in your practice.

What’s the secret number of dollars that should trigger you to start thinking, “I need help and need to hire an associate?” Does such a number even exist? Regardless, when the time comes and you decide to bring an associate into your practice, how should you do it? On the next episode of the Power Hour, Gary discusses the nuances and best practices to bringing on an associate doctor. When you should do it, how to it and why you should (or shouldn’t) consider it. Like all the practice building topics discussed on the show, you can expect this discussion to be thought provoking with very different information you’re likely to hear anywhere else!

Listen to this episode as we discuss the current state of telemedicine, what Smart Vision Labs (www.smartvisionlabs.com) has learned since their last appearance and why they have re-released their latest device. Two of the newest clinical studies will be discussed on the show. Smart Vision believes OD’s can work well with them instead of having an adversarial relationship and welcomes your calls on the show. So, is it really an eye exam in an iPhone or something else? Tune in and find out!

Treehouse Eyes opened about a year ago. Founded by Dr. Gary Gerber and industry veteran Matt Oerding, with two centers already open in the DC area, Matt and Gary discuss how and why the company launched, what the results have been so far and what their future expansions plans are.

Erik Lilligren from Eyecarevideo.tv joins the show and talks about why and how practices can effectively use video in their practices. Learn the tips and tricks the pros use to promote your practice and make you stand out from the crowd! An overlooked medium, and often used poorly, video can be a great tool to position your practice, especially in crowded markets.

Whether it’s Google ad words, boosting a Facebook post, or a recall snail mail postcard – the basics of marketing still apply. Ignore any of these and your attempts are sure to fail. Use all of them and you’re sure to succeed. Gary covers all you need to know about this important topic on this episode of the Power Hour.

Two weeks ago, the Vice President of Operations for the Power Practice, Paul Ferraro, was our guest on the show. Paul discussed the first steps in recruiting top talent – job posts, telephone screening, etc. Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour as the discussion continues. Topics include the actual in person interview – questions, flow, structure, working interviews, the onboarding process, staff retention and why staff members really leave and an array of other important topics.

Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour when Gary invites listeners to share their most “off the wall” customer service tricks and tips. He also brings many of the strategies he used in his own practice as well as those of very successful practices from around the country.

Harvard Business Review estimates that 80 percent of turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. The consequences of a wrong hire can go beyond turnover costs. Listen to this episode of the Power Hour to learn how you can minimize the “bad hire” occurrence, on your way to building a happy and productive staff.

We surveyed ODs to find out! Learn which ODs are the happiest, what makes them unhappy, and what you can do to increase your own professional satisfaction. Tune in to the Power Hour to hear Gary discuss this interesting topic with Dr. Bethany Fishbein.

Continuing and building on last weeks’ episode on how to elevate your customer service, Gary discusses innovative techniques to empower your staff. Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour for strategies that allow your staff to help you, are welcomed by them, last beyond one office meeting and immediately add to your bottom line.

What can optometrists learn from the latest United Airlines customer service debacle? A LOT! Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour where Gary discusses great ways to amp up your customer service, a simple technique to measure it, and what to do when things go horribly wrong – which at some point, they absolutely will!

Do you look forward to office meetings, or do you dread them and then ultimately cancel them? Tune in to this episode of the Power Hour where Gary discusses new ways to effectively and efficiently hold staff meetings that are productive and add to your practice’s bottom line.

Decreasing revenues with increasing expenses and regulations, online eyeglass selling, “generic” contact lenses and online refraction – to name just a few things – are going to fundamentally change and possibly eliminate optometry as we know it. Gary talks about why that’s a GOOD thing and how you can leverage the tsunami of change NOW to position your practice for whatever the future holds. Tune in to this thought provoking episode of the Power Hour!

Vision by Design, the country’s best meeting on myopia control is right around the corner. Get a snapshot of myopia control in general and the meeting in particular from Dr. Paul Levine, President of the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control. Paul gets listeners up-to-date on what’s new in myopia control and talk about why it’s important for your practice.

Drs. Mark Rosner and Debby Feinberg are back on the show to discuss some of the latest work they’ve been doing with minute amounts of prism. On the previous show they discussed how they have had literally life changing results for their patients by carefully prescribing minute amounts of prism. Get caught up on some of their latest work on this episode of the Power Hour.

Mike Hundert is the current Chairman of The Vision Council, as well as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer of De Rigo Rem, part of the world's fourth largest provider of eyewear. Mike joins Gary for a discussion on the Power Hour to give his thoughts on what is arguably the biggest merger – ever - in the eyecare industry, and how it will affect consumers, other frame and lens manufacturers and your practice. Don't miss this thought provoking and interesting episode.

On last week's show, Gary talked about successful strategies to externally market your practice. This week, the show focuses on internal marketing. Learn to turn last week's prospects into patients, who then become practice evangelists on this informative and entertaining episode of the Power Hour.

Gary rolls up his sleeves and gets into a discussion about some innovative external marketing strategies you should be using at your practice. What works, what doesn’t, how to budget and plan your marketing and how to create compelling campaigns are all topics to be covered on this show.

You’ve worked really hard to get patients to come into your practice. Are you working as hard to make sure they never leave . . . and come back when they should? This episode of the Power Hour is dedicated to what Gary calls, “the lifeblood of EVERY business and practice.” Learn why it’s so important and then how to make yours better – regardless of how you actually do it! Which are better? Postcards or text messages? Robo-calls or real people calling? Does pre-appointing matter?

Be ready take notes for this episode! What you hear Wednesday night, you’ll start using Thursday morning!

Inventory is a major expense for a practice yet one that rarely gets any attention beyond – “There’s a hole on the board – I guess we need to fill it with something.” On this episode of the Power Hour, Gary takes your calls and shares easy strategies to help you control what for most practices, is arguably the biggest potential profit generator – or potential profit loser – in a practice.

Reuters news and other historically reliable news sources recently reported a proposed merger between Essilor and Luxottica. Howard Purcell, O.D., F.A.A.O., DIPL., Senior Vice President of Customer Development at Essilor, joins a special news breaking edition of the Power Hour. Callers speak to Howard and learn about how this breaking news will affect the industry.

A recent landmark court case for a New York Yoga Studio may have far reaching consequences on how doctors pay their associates. The concept of Independent Contractors and how they can work in your practice is the topic of the next episode of the Power Hour. Join attorney Elizabeth Harlan who argued the case on behalf of the Yoga Studio, that their employees were indeed independent contractors. It’s an important topic for any doctor who has an associate or might hire one in the future!

On the first Power Hour of the year, Gary talks about starting at step one of practice team building: hiring a great team. Hear some great strategies you can use the next time you need to hire someone – which as you’ll hear on the show – might not be as far off into the future as you might think! If you’re a new practice owner or a seasoned veteran, you’ll get a lot of benefit by listening to this first episode of 2017!

On the Oct 26th episode, Gary discussed “Part 1” about how to use public speaking to grow your practice. Listen to Part 2, on this episode of the Power Hour. Learn everything, from content development to presentation style to creative ways to use Power Point (or NO Power Point) or Prezi, how to deal with questions and difficult audience members, suggestions for handouts and a lot more.

You already talk to patients every day and are great at it. Why not do the same thing in your community and talk to prospective patients? Learn how to make your own presentations more dynamic and memorable!

The Power Hour welcomes Maureen Cavanagh on this episode. A 24 year industry veteran, Maureen heads up this important group whose mission is to enhance and promote the leadership role of women in the ophthalmic industry through networking and peer support. Maureen talks about what the association brings to its members and the industry as well as their goals for 2017.

Dr. Mannen discusses his new position paper on managed vision care, which explores the value it provides patients and consumers, and why he believes the channel is so important to independent optometry. The guests also discuss VSP’s focus for 2017, how it is helping increase access to care, and take questions on other topics from callers.

If you could do five – and only five – things to build your practice, what would they be? On this episode of the Power Hour, Gary shares his own special list of what he recommends to jumpstart your practice and ensure it stays highly efficient and profitable.

Dr. Mark Jacquot, Luxottica’s VP and Clinical Director, Vision Care Operations is the guest on this episode of the Power Hour. Mark discusses his thoughts on the current state of corporate optometry and where he sees it fitting in the big picture of optometry’s future.

David Friedfeld is back on the air to share his thoughts about everything from what the optical of the future will look like to how many frames should be in a typical practice. We discuss the pros/cons of carrying ubiquitous brands vs. frames from smaller independent companies, frame markup strategies and a potpourri of other important topics.

Having given more than 1,000 presentations to audience sizes of 2 to 2,000, Gary taps into his experience and discusses how to use this powerful medium to get out into your community and build your practice. Everything from content development to presentation style to creative ways to use Power Point or Prezi are discussed on this episode of the Power Hour.

You already talk to patients every day and are great at it. Why not do the same thing in your community and talk to prospective patients? Learn how to make your own presentations more dynamic and memorable!

By using new technology, more opticians are now able to offer auto-refraction to patients. Some of them are having the data signed remotely and used as an eyeglass prescription. Is this a convenience for patients and a business builder for the optician, or a public health hazard? Is this part of the future of eyecare that should be embraced or avoided? Listen to the this episode of the Power Hour when Yaopeng Zhou, the CEO of Smart Vision Labs calls in to discuss this important topic.

Listen to Gary on this episode of the Power Hour where he shares some of his unique perspectives around delegating. This is much more than “buy an automated X and have your tech use it.” Learn some very compelling reasons about WHY you should be delegating, what you should delegate and how to get it done. As with all of Gary’s shows, you’re sure to get a perspective on a previously mundane topic you hadn’t ever considered before!

In addition to conventional marketing, properly used, public relations can be a huge benefit to most practices. Tune in to this episode when PR professional Jennifer Bodner discusses how to get a great campaign in place for your practice.

Your practice rent is one of the largest ongoing expenses your practice has. Learn from real estate expert, Chuck Feitel, how to minimize your rent and maximize concessions from your landlord on this episode of the Power Hour.

Dr. Cheryl Engels, Senior Consultant from the Power Practice is our guest this week. Dr. Engels runs the “Practice Made Perfect” program at the Power Practice and discusses her list of “must do and must know” before you open or buy your next practice. Tune in for some lively and insightful discussion on this important topic!

Most of us know George Martin as No. 75 of the New York Football Giants, the star defensive end of the 1970s and ‘80s, with 96 quarterback sacks, the touchdown record for a defensive lineman, a Super Bowl win and an incredible interception that Coach Bill Parcells called the greatest football play he has ever seen. George is an NFL legend, but he’s also so much more. Son of a sharecropper who grew up dirt poor in the American South, through talent and determination, family and faith, George Martin became a true leader on the field and off, a man whose relentless positive energy and ability to inspire know no bounds. He has championed NFL colleagues as their union president, advocated for retired players with chronic injuries, and created a non-profit to help young people find their way to responsible adulthood through athletics and mentoring. He joins the Power Hour along with Dr. Don Teig to talk about how OD’s can get more involved with concussion care for athletes. Tune it to this very special episode!

It’s easy to get bogged down in the regulations around security compliance, HIPAA and billing and coding requirements. While the information is available to help you navigate the confusion, there are companies who can carry that burden for you. Rob Marcella from CSEye talks about when it is (and isn’t) a good idea to outsource this important part of your practice, what to watch for when making the decision and other relevant topics.

Alan Homestead, OD is the guest on this informative episode. Get the latest on preventing and surviving audits, meaningful use updates, using after hours codes, using your iPhone for anterior seg photos and a host of other important updates. As the director of billing coding at the Power Practice, Alan is uniquely capable to share his expertise on this important topic.

It might be an old saying, but it certainly applies to any OD trying to manage their practice. Listen to this episode where Gary shares his, and his Power Practice client list of, “If I’d only known then what I know now I would have . . .” On tap for this interesting episode are topics like starting a practice that focuses on everything except the doctor, learning practice building from anyone but an optometrist, the importance of culture, what marketing really means for an OD and lessons learned about staff management.